


Rain Came Pouring Down When I Was Drowning (That's When I Could Finally Breathe)

by enchanting_serendipity



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Pointless fluff, Tony Stark Has A Heart, that's all this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enchanting_serendipity/pseuds/enchanting_serendipity
Summary: “You don’t have to join me, you know,” she said softly, as she always did, her voice not quite a whisper but not far from it.“I know,” he gently retorted.She shifted and leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder and her eyes still on the rainstorm raging outside. They fell into a comfortable silence.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	Rain Came Pouring Down When I Was Drowning (That's When I Could Finally Breathe)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Here's a one-shot. The idea came to me last night so of course I stayed up late typing up this story. It was raining, and I was inspired by my own love for rain. I hope you like it. Oh and props to anyone who recognizes the title. I am a huge Taylor Swift fan. :)

The rain steadily pounded against the windows. Pepper wrapped the fleece blanket tighter around her with one hand, a steaming mug of hot cocoa balanced in the other. She was sitting, her legs criss-crossed on the fluffy rug in their living room, directly in front of the floor to ceiling windows.

A smile worked its way across her face as padded footsteps, muffled first by socks and then the rug, made their way towards her.

“It’s 2am, honey,” came the gentle voice, but he didn’t sound bothered.

She twisted around to meet his gaze. “There’s one for you on the counter,” she replied, holding up her mug before taking a cautious sip. It was still warm.

He accepted that with a smile, not the least bit surprised, before he turned and headed towards the kitchen. He reappeared a minute later with the mug and a blanket of his own. He settled down next to her.

“You don’t have to join me, you know,” she said softly, as she always did, her voice not quite a whisper but not far from it.

“I know,” he gently retorted.

She shifted and leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder and her eyes still on the rainstorm raging outside. They fell into a comfortable silence.

Pepper had always loved the rain, ever since she was a little girl. She could remember pressing her face close against the glass and watching raindrops roll down the window. She would choose one and have it race against the others, following it with her finger as it rolled down the windowpane and merged with other raindrops until it inevitably ran out of her sight. Then she would choose a new one and start over.

When she was a little bit older, she was very fond of books. While the rest of her classmates played sports and lamented the days their practices and matches were rained out, she found a thrill from curling up next to the window with a good book as a thunderstorm raged on around her. She always looked forward to those days.

Even as an adult, she absolutely loved thunderstorms. She could, and would when she had the time, sit by the window for hours just taking it in. She grew to be too busy with her job to appreciate storms during the daytime, but that didn’t stop her from dragging herself out of bed at night to appreciate them then.

No one ever seemed to understand it. Or even try to.

Her parents would shake their heads and roll their eyes when they would search for her, only to find her staring at raindrops. “Silly Virginia,” they would tease as one of them would scoop her up. “Always obsessed with the rain. Are you training to be a weather woman? You should find a more practical career someday, honey.” They were very practical people and always had good intentions, but they just didn’t understand her sometimes.

Her friends in middle school would complain about the weather and how they couldn’t cheer at the football game because of it. Normally she stayed quiet, but one day one of them asked her if she agreed, and she mentioned that she kind of liked the rain. They looked at her as though she had said something scandalous, like Wham! wasn’t the best band ever or she thought Bobby Walker, their football quarterback and 6th grade heartthrob, wasn’t cute. Those she would have understood, but she didn’t expect them to get that upset over rain.

Even an ex boyfriend didn’t understand it. “I don’t think this is working out, Pepper,” he said one morning, out of the blue. She was eating cereal, unaware that they were having any relationship problems.

“What are you talking about?” She asked, her eyes widening with shock. She couldn’t possibly be hearing him right.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” He gestured between them, avoiding eye contact.

Her mind ran a mile a minute, trying to piece together an explanation for this sudden confrontation.

“Why?” was all she managed to get out.

“You just- I don’t know. It’s just not working. I’m doing everything I can to keep you happy, but then you go and sneak out of bed at night for some reason, and I know it’s because you have some weird obsession with rain, but I just don’t understand… I don’t know.”

She stared at him, her mouth agape. “Are you breaking up with me because I occasionally watch thunderstorms at night?”

He kind of shrugged, looking guilty. “I mean not necessarily… but kind of I guess.”

That tops Pepper’s list of weirdest reasons for breakups. Sure, she knew her love for thunderstorms was unusual, but she wasn’t aware it was enough to cause a breakup.

But now things were different. Now she has her husband. Her loving, attentive, wonderful husband who does not completely understand her love for thunderstorms but supports her wholeheartedly.

Her husband who follows her out of bed at 2 in the morning and watches the rain with her because he knows it’s important to her and wants to experience it with her.

She nestled more closely into his side, and he responded by tightening his grip around her and placing a soft kiss into her hair.

“I love you.”

Her voice sounded small in the large room, almost drowned out by the pitter patter of the rain, although her words were anything but. But he still heard her.

“I love you too, Pepper.”

A warmth spread through her body. She knew he loved her. He reminded her often, never willing to let her doubt it for a moment. But hearing it never got old. And she didn’t want it to.

They remained there for hours, sipping their cocoa even as it grew cold and watching as the rainstorm faded away and the sunrise replaced it. Sunrises after a rainstorm always seemed even more beautiful somehow.Then they gathered up their blankets and shuffled back to bed to catch up on the missed sleep.

Pepper would wake up in the early afternoon to an empty bed, but she wouldn’t be worried. She would shuffle into the kitchen to find far too many pancakes for two people to possibly consume and slightly charred bacon and Tony wearing his “Kiss the Cook” apron, his hair still mussed from sleep. His eyes would light up at the sight of her, as though he had desperately missed her the short time they had been apart.

They would eat and laugh and spend the rest of the day enjoying each other’s presence. That was what Saturdays are for, after all. And Pepper Potts was happy.


End file.
